IN FLANDERS FIELDS
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
— Lt.-Col. John McCrae
Thanks Marley,
We learned that poem in grammar school, and I still get my “Buddy Poppy” from a veteran every Memorial Day. Sadly “The War to End All Wars” wasn’t.
Thanks to all veterans and let’s hope the current warriors come home safe and soon, and the Veteran’s Administration is cleaned up so that they get the care and benefits they deserve but have not been getting from Bush the Moron and pals.
We had to memorize the poem, too, along with the Gettysburg address and Invictus. I’m very found of the British War Poets (Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, Wilfred Gibson, Siegfried Sassoon, but Flanders Field is so simple.
Finally watched the video which made me cry. It reminded me of a short film I saw during the Vietnam war; it was Eastern European, and started with the birth of a child, flashed through his growing up and becoming a soldier, and ended with an old woman weeping over his grave. The background sound was a newborn baby’s cry. So powerful. I saw it with my first son’s father.
I too love the British war poets especially Wilfred Owen. “I am the enemy you killed, my friend/Let us sleep now…”
THank you,Marley, for this beautiful moment. I am the granddaughter of a WWI Vet, daughter of WWII vet, wife of Viet Nam vet and mother or Desert Storm and War on Terror vets. This touched my heart. I wonder how much of the issue we share is predicated on the aftermath of these wars.
Sandy
Wonderful tribute!